Speaking in Brussels following a hearing on simplification of the CAP, McGuinness said upwards of 1,000 pages of proposals have been received, demonstrating the demand for simplification across the EU.

"We now need a rapid analysis of the proposals to determine which areas are the target of most attention and where work can begin immediately on making the necessary changes," she said, picking out the implementation of ecological focus areas at farm level as an example of where attention could be focussed.

McGuinness added that one of the key issues of concern for farmers and member states is the severity of the penalties and fines imposed when errors are found on farms.

“Farmers who inadvertently have problems, for example, with eligible land where over 20% of land is found to be ineligible face the loss of their entire payment, under circumstances in which there is not absolute clarity about what is eligible land and what is not. That is unfair, to say the least.”

On this note the MEP said she welcomed the recent publication of guidelines on land eligibility by the Department of Agriculture as well as the clarification that farmers can include land deemed ineligible for payment under the Single Farm Payment scheme for payments under the new Basic Payment Scheme, provided the farmer takes action to ensure that land meets the eligibility criteria.

"This is an important clarification and ensures that farmers will be able to submit land and make claims under the scheme and not suffer ongoing cuts to support payments."

McGuinness also said it is clear there is a need for an EU wide Charter of Rights for farmers, "to protect their interests as individuals against the bureaucratic CAP system. The system needs to acknowledge the position of farmers and treat them with due dignity,” she said.

Read more

More tolerance in the rules for land eligibility.